A longtime Cincinnati-area officeholder is ready to announce whether he will continue the bid for Ohio governor that he launched less than a month ago.

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune was expected Thursday to announce a decision on whether he would file to run.

Portune said on Dec. 30 he was challenging Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald for the Democratic nomination. FitzGerald has been running for months, but Portune said he was hearing from rank-and-file Democrats a desire for a choice in the May 6 primary.

State Democratic leaders have repeated that FitzGerald is their choice to oppose Republican Gov. John Kasich in November.

The 55-year-old Portune has been crisscrossing the state since his announcement to gauge whether he could generate enough support to be successful.